Shifting seat for vehicles



(ModeL) J. C. THEAKSTON.

SH'IPTING SEAT FOR VEHIGLES. No. 253,238. Patented Feb.- 7,1882.

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UNTTE STATES ATENT Farce.

JOHN G. THEAKSTON, OF SALEM, OHIO. n

SHIFTING SEAT FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,238, dated February '7, 1882.

Application filed August 3, 1881. (ModeL) I To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN G. THEAKSTON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Salem, in the county of Columbiana and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shifting Sea-ts for Vehicles; and I do hereby declare the t'ollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation with seats unfolded; Fig.2, a like section with seats folded; Fig. 3, a bottom view of front seat with parts of iron connections; and Fig. 4, a front view of one end of the folding sear, showing the means employed for holding it in place.

' Myinvention has reference to shifting seats for vehicles; and it consists in the construction and the combination of parts hereinafter particularly described, and then sought to be specifically defined by the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the body ofthe vehicle, provided with the usual sill, B, and with another sill, G, above it for the riser D of the seat E to rest upon.

The seat E is free to be moved back and forth, and is controlled in its movements by two rods, F, hinged to the risers of the seat and to the sill B. The front seat, G, is hinged near its back to the brace H of the top-supporting posts, I. The seat G is further connected at both sides by means of hinged bars J to the hinged legs K. The upper end of each leg K is provided with a lug, a, adapted to bear against bar J when the seat is thrown back and prevent the seat falling too low. The legs K, near their lower'ends, are hinged by a pin to plates L, secured to the sills B, and are connected by means of levers M, which are preferably curved, to either the front or rear rods, F, the levers being secured to the legs and bars by bolts or other suitable hinged connections. Now, when the front seat is moved from off its front legs, K, it falls and hangs perpendicularly, and then when the back seat is moved forward the front legs and seat are drawn back and the seat swung up under the back seat, where it is firmly held by the weight of the backseat on the legs and levers and by the lugs on the legs K, bearing against the bars J. 4

The front seat, when both seats are in use, is supported by means of two hinged or shifting ears, N, which, when thrown out, rest upon the top edge of the legs, thereby supporting the seat in a horizontal position, and when drawn in allow the seat to fall and be swung back, as already described. These ears, for purposes of illustration, are represented as made each with an arm and a jaw and as being hinged at the outer end of thejaw in aslot made in a metal plate, 0, secured to the end of the seat, while at the inner end of the jaw there is formed a slot, so that the jaw may fit about the leg, and thereby brace the seat latorally and rest upon the'upper end, or, rather, shoulder formed in the upper end, of the leg. The arms of the ears are connected together near theirinner ends by means of a pin on one ear passing through a slot in the other ear, which last-ear is also provided with a thumb pin, b, so that by pressing on the thumbpin in one direction the arms will reee'de and allow the ears to be drawn in when the seat may fall; and by pressing the arms in the other direction the cars will project and be in position to rest upon the legs. When the ears are to be drawn in, the seat should be slightly raised, so that they will not be obstructed in their movement by the legs.

The means described for shifting the seats are simple and cheap and not liable to easily get out of repair, and they permit the shifting of the seats, either to fold or unfold, to be done with great expedition, and, when folded, the

front seat is snugly and securely held in position under the back seat.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The seat Gr, hinged at its rear, so as to swing and fold, in combination with hinged legs K and braces J, connecting the seat and legs together, the seat resting on the legs K when raised, and swinging free of the same when lowered, substantially as set forth.

2. The seats E and G, connected together, so as to be shifted one by theother, the seat G being hinged at its rear, so as to swing and fold, and connected with legs K and bars J. so as to rest upon the legs when raised and swing free of the same when lowered, substan- 7 legs K, provided with lugs a, whereby the legs tially as and for the purpose set forth. and ears engage to support the seat when 3. The seat G, hinged at its rear, so as to raised, and the lugs and braces engage to sup- 15 swing and fold, and provided with shifting port it when lowered, substantially as set 5 ears N, in combination with hinged legs K and forth.

braces J, the legs supporting the front of the In testimony whereof I afli'x my signature in seat and engaging with the ears when raised, presence of two witnesses.

and disengagingf'rom both when lo\\ered,sub

stantially as set forth. JOHN FHIDA KSTON' 1o 4. The seat G, hinged at its rear, so as to \Vitnesses:

swing and fold, and provided with shifting JOHN E. ROGERS,

ears N, in combination with bracesJ and hinged FRANK P. FoU'rs. 

